Kimberley Walsh reveals route for Sky Ride Leeds

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED JOINTLY BY SKY, BRITISH CYCLING AND LEEDS CITY COUNCIL

Caption: Singer Kimberley Walsh (centre) with Leader of Leeds City Council Cllr Keith Wakefield and chief executive of Leeds City Council Tom Riordan (immediately to right of Kimberley), Chair of West Yorkshire Metro Cllr James Lewis and Leeds City Council executive member for leisure and skills Cllr Lucinda Yeadon (immediately to left of Kimberley) together with pupils from Victoria Primary School and British Cycling Ride Leaders on The Headrow in Leeds (mandatory credit to Getty Images if used)

Pop star Kimberley Walsh was in Leeds today to officially announce the route for Sky Ride Leeds on Sunday 7 July 2013. The free city ride, hosted by British Cycling and Sky, in partnership with Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Metro’s go:cycling project, is coming to Leeds for the first time and offers people of all ages and abilities the chance to ride around the city on traffic-free streets, taking in some of the city’s most popular attractions.

Sky Ride Ambassador Kimberley, who grew up in Yorkshire, will be returning to her home county on the day to officially start the ride and take in some of the five-kilometre route, which will give riders views of the iconic Leeds Town Hall, the new £60m first direct arena as well as going through the scenic University of Leeds campus.

The event also forms part of the one year to go celebrations to Leeds and Yorkshire hosting the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, with those taking part able to experience starting on The Headrow and a similar initial route through Leeds city centre to be used by cycling superstars such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish in 12 months’ time.

Sky Ride Leeds will take place from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 7 July, with the traffic-free loop allowing participants to take part in the ride at their own pace. In addition to the main route, there will also be a shorter 500-metre city centre route open to people of all abilities, as well as a 750m loop at Woodhouse Moor.

Participants will be treated to a range of activities and entertainment throughout the day at key activity points along the route, including events hosted by the University of Leeds.

Dan Goodey from British Cycling said: “Sky Ride Leeds promises to be a fantastic event, from the start on The Headrow where the Tour de France will set off from in a year’s time to the beautiful Woodhouse Moor and Leeds University campus, cyclists will see Leeds like they never have before! This event marks also the beginning of a summer full of opportunities to get involved in cycling in Yorkshire; there has never been a better time to get on a bike!”

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Keith Wakefield said: “Sky Ride Leeds is going to be a fantastic event for everyone to be part of. Having a traffic-free ride through the city centre for the first time will be great and we hope to see thousands of people of all ages both taking part and soaking up the special atmosphere.

“With it being one year to the weekend of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France coming to Leeds, it will also offer a unique chance for people to experience just what the world’s best riders will see and feel here next July, so it should be a really memorable day.”

Carl Tinson, co-ordinator of West Yorkshire Metro’s go:cycling project, which is supporting Sky Ride events across West Yorkshire, said: “The Tour de France coming to West Yorkshire next year is creating a real buzz about cycling already and events like the Leeds Sky Ride are the perfect opportunity for people to get out there to be part of the Grand Départ.”

Sky Ride Leeds is just one of the many ways local residents can get back on their bikes across Yorkshire this summer, including further traffic-free city rides in Bradford (11th August), Hull (18th August) and York (14th September), and over 200 smaller Sky Ride Local rides with British Cycling trained ride leaders taking place across the county throughout the summer.

To view the full Sky Ride Leeds route and for more information visit: www.goskyride.com

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Simon Ansell T: 020 3003 6680 E: simon.ansell@freud.com

Olivia Burrell T: 020 3003 6497 E: olivia.burrell@freud.com

About Sky Ride

Sky Ride Leeds is one of sixteen Sky Ride city events taking place across the UK this summer on traffic-free streets, enabling cyclists to enjoy a day of bike-based entertainment and to explore their city on two wheels with family and friends. The free events aim to encourage thousands of people, of all ages and abilities, to get on their bikes.

Sky Ride Local rides are free small, weekly community bikes rides that give participants the chance to get out and explore their local area. Led by a British Cycling trained leader, who is on hand to provide support and tips on how to improve for people of any age or ability they will be taking place across the country this summer.

In 2012 Sixteen Sky Ride City events and 1,000 Sky Ride Local rides which saw over 146,000 participants take part in Sky Ride City events and over 17,000 participants take part in Sky Ride Locals. Last year British Cycling and Sky beat their goal of getting one million more Britons on their bikes and cycling regularly (once a month) by 2013.

About British Cycling

British Cycling is the national governing body for cycling as recognised by the UCI - the international federation for the sport. Based in Manchester at the National Cycling Centre, British Cycling works across all levels and six disciplines of the sport, from providing the support and encouragement people need to get riding their bikes for the first time, to being home to the hugely successful Great Britain Cycling Team.

Continued success at the highest level is inspiring a boom in participation across the nation. There have never been more opportunities to ride a bike, be it for fun or sport, and British Cycling is at the heart of this growth. British Cycling also works hard to represent cyclists' interests at all levels, including campaigning on important issues including road safety. As a membership organisation, British Cycling provides a suite of benefits and support to its members who currently number over 70,000. All membership revenue is invested back into cycling.

About Sky in Leeds

Sky is a leading employer in Leeds which has grown fourfold since 2006 and now employs over 1,200 people in jobs ranging from IT and marketing to customer service and journalism.

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and Communications Company. Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.3 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes. More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi. NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV. Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sport, opening up the arts to more people and raising the aspiration of young people in schools. Sky employs 23,500 people, has annual revenues of £6.8 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY).

go:cycling

go:cycling promotes cycling across West Yorkshire through free adult cycle training, free bike maintenance sessions and working with employers to encourage cycling to, and for, work. go:cycling is co-ordinated by Metro and is being provided in partnership with West Yorkshire’s five district authorities and CTC (the national cycling charity), and is supported by the Department for Transport through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. For more information go to www.wymetro.com/moreways/gocycling/cycling/